If you aren’t marketing on mobile, are you really even trying?
Whether you agree with the above sentiment, or you’re offended by it, facts are facts. Over 60% of searches are conducted through mobile browsers and apps, and Americans alone spend over ten hours a day on their phone. In fact, comScore asserts that all future digital growth will be mobile.
Now that I’ve lit a fire under you (hopefully just stoked one that was already there), it’s time to talk about how to create mobile marketing campaigns that actually work, and how you can build or update your app in a way that will appeal the most to users on the go. It’s important to factor in that the context in which your campaigns will be viewed is wholly different than that of desktop computers. Your campaigns must work just as well for those who are commuting on a crowded subway or walking down a sidewalk with a latte in one hand as those who are browsing their phone or tablet while their computer installs an update.
My favorite way to learn how to do new things, especially when it comes to marketing, is to learn from the greats. Without further ado, let’s examine the way the most successful brands have conquered the mobile space, and what us little (or at least slightly smaller) guys can glean from their success:
MyFitnessPal: Push Notifications & Mobile Rewards For Accomplishments
Possibly the most beloved and widely used fitness app, MyFitnessPal boasts an impressive database of foods, great user interface, and enough of a social component and gamification of goals to make its user experience incredibly compelling. However, they wouldn’t have found nearly the level of success they had without one crucial component - they know exactly when to send push notifications, and they always have perfectly motivating content in them. Even if it’s a bit crass.
The app reminds users to log their meals, learning over time and adjusting to when that particular user usually logs. This takes advantage of what many marketers refer to as micro-moments - those small moments where the consumers are torn between using your product and not, and it’s an ideal time for outreach.
For MyFitnessPal, a micro-moment is a moment when a user has just eaten, and is deciding whether or not to be “good” and log, or give in to the temptation to not hold themselves accountable. Whether or not to go for that run and earn more calories, or call the day a loss for health. MyFitnessPal’s marketing goal is to get its users healthy - and viewing their advertisements. Both are served by its top-notch push notifications and mobile congratulations for users.
Starbucks: Become Their Most Helpful Friend
The coffee giant has a great problem - they’re receiving so many mobile orders through their Mobile Order & Pay (MOP) service, available through their mobile app, that their stores are becoming overly crowded. In fact, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has even confirmed that they will be revisiting the very layout of their locations to make more room for those waiting for pickups, and less for those waiting in line to order the old fashioned way.
This was not a happy coincidence. Starbucks heavily invests in its mobile presence, using artificial intelligence and cloud tech to offer personalizations to all users, especially during the holidays. The most impressive development of this was its new conversational ordering system, which was deployed in December of 2016 and has, so far, been a huge success. Hot on its heels came the announcement that you can now order your morning brew and breakfast over your Alexa device - and I can only guess that adding the more personal feel of a digital assistant will help preserve the intended Starbucks experience while expediting it.
The main takeaway from Starbucks’ mobile success, however, is that they understand their customers’ experiences, and have made their mobile app improve it steadily. The MOP customers would not exist if there was not a morning rush that was so stressed as to want to forego the line; the conversational ordering system would be a gimmick if Starbucks did not recognize that their brand means more than just coffee and a bagel to their customers, it means an experience and sense of status and class as well, which demands a premium feel each interaction.
As you design your mobile marketing and app development, never lose sight of your customers and their experience. The most engaging apps - and brands in general - act as trusted confidants, attentive partners, and inspirational mentors, and use their marketing to shape those perceptions, instead of letting it derail it. Be the friend your customer needs, and they’ll be loyal and enthusiastic beyond your wildest dreams.
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